Don't Just Use AI, Use It Right Your Roadmap to Ethical AI Organizational Readiness
Published Date, 2024

Don’t Just Use AI, Use It Right: Your Roadmap To Ethical AI Organizational Readiness

Created By: Bobby Hunter
March 28, 2024

It’s no mystery to my colleagues that I am a daily user of AI. On the one hand, I have AI helping me solve complex Excel functions. On the other, I have it generating quotes in Bea Arthur’s voice to celebrate a clear to-do list. The benefits of AI can be productive and fun – yet I still feel a tinge of guilt writing this publicly. While I feel comfortable with these tools, do my colleagues feel comfortable with how I use them?

In November 2023, I attended the Microsoft Ignite conference, which launched much of the hype surrounding Microsoft Copilot. During one panel, Generative AI – rise above the hype and build business value, Microsoft offered a comprehensive view of how business value was a product of your organizational readiness for AI tools. That readiness is based on developing governance for responsible usage and building a culture of AI fluency. The business value comes from the staff’s technical skills with specific tools and an ethical and sustainable environment that supports AI usage.

In this article, I’ll cover some of the steps Orr Group is taking to create a culture of ethics that you can adopt for your nonprofit organization.

Step 1: AI Usage Policy

Whether your AI Task Force is already set up or you are still putting the pieces together, it is essential to take the time to develop a robust and supportive AI Usage Policy for your employees. A good AI Usage Policy needs to be broad enough to be flexible in managing this rapidly shifting technology and specific enough that your staff can apply it to their work. The policy needs to align with the processes in your IT and Data Security policies to ensure compliance and safety. The policy helps those engaging with AI regularly feel confident that the organization supports exploring how AI can improve their projects and workflows. Overall, the policy must expect that all employees will learn how to use AI appropriately, ethically, and securely while guiding them to the tools and training they will use.

Step 2: AI Governance

An AI Usage Policy is only as effective as its supporting governance infrastructure. If staff want to create a team ChatGPT account, how do they get access? What kind of data can be put into ChatGPT? How do we ensure only that kind of data is put in ChatGPT? Your staff and leadership will be asking these questions, and the key to deriving value from AI tools is minimizing the time spent asking them while ensuring everyone is still following protocols. AI Governance is a transparent system describing the various roles employees will take in establishing:

  • A strategy team that determines AI policies, expectations, roadmaps, and KPIs.
  • A team testing AI tools and who needs to be involved to approve the implementation of those tools.
  • A team training staff on how to use the implemented AI tools successfully and appropriately in their work.

Together, the AI Usage Policy and supporting AI Governance create a culture of responsibility and accountability that mitigates risk and maximizes the value of using AI. The scale of the governance is directly proportionate to the scale of your rollout – the more influence AI will have in your organization, the tighter the governance will need to be to support it.

Step 3: AI Fluency

While AI literacy means that your staff knows what a given AI tool is and what it can do, AI fluency means that they can strategize how to maximize its value and minimize risks. A fluent employee does not have to be a regular user of AI at all – they can contribute effectively by identifying opportunities to use AI in projects, bridging gaps in the organization’s governance, or identifying situations where others aren’t using AI appropriately. Similarly, your organization cannot simply rely on a handful of frequent users to raise overall staff fluency– the accessibility of these tools will result in Shadow AI usage, where you cannot control where your business data goes or how AI interacts with it. Fluency is a comprehensive measurement of every staff member committed to AI organizational readiness.

Here are some ideas on how to build AI fluency at your nonprofit organization:

  • Start in collaboration with your DEIB initiatives. The principles behind these steps can align with broader Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives your organization is already taking. A good starting point is UNESCO’s values and principles shared in their 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. While the recommendation is focused on international governance, the emphasis on fairness, transparency, safety, and accountability is tangible enough to implement at scale.
  • Bias training is required for valuable AI inputs and outputs. Understanding the signs and causes of bias/discrimination tied to AI usage comes from having foundational bias training in the first place. If your staff can’t identify biases in their daily interactions, they won’t be able to identify them in the data/language an AI tool works with. You cannot rely on an AI tool to do that work for you; giving it a biased input will give you a biased output.
  • Transparency about your AI usage isn’t enough. While it is everyone’s responsibility to disclose their AI usage, you must also be able to explain how AI is supporting your work. Staff need to explain how the AI tools take data in, how the data is analyzed, and why it arrives at a given output. In addition, everyone must understand how the data they work with is secured along the way.

All of this ties back to how your governance and training can support your staff – be proactive about providing language and mentorship to effectively disclose and comprehensively understand how AI may be part of their work process. The more fluent your staff become with AI, the faster they can navigate these situations and realize the ROI these tools promise.

Elevate Your Nonprofit With Orr Group’s AI Consulting

Make no mistake – your nonprofit can accomplish this work. You can address these steps piece by piece, as your organization requires them for the AI tools you wish to use. But we also understand that AI is exciting, and, like us, maybe you want to dive in right away.

At Orr Group, we’re enthusiastic about the future of AI and hope to share that enthusiasm with our nonprofit partners. We are ready to assist your organization in brainstorming ways to seamlessly and safely integrate AI into your fundraising and other operational efforts. Contact us to learn how we can help elevate your organization to new heights.


Bobby Hunter is a Senior Associate Director supporting Operations at Orr Group. Bobby is responsible for providing leadership and oversight of the firm’s use of technology and internal systems to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Bobby is a member of Orr Group’s AI Taskforce.

Related Resources

AI for Nonprofits: 10 Tools and Best Practices to Know

Published Date 2025
AI for Nonprofits: 10 Tools and Best Practices to Know

Created by: CJ Orr May 19, 2025 In today’s technologically driven world, artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed various industries, including fundraising for nonprofit organizations. AI tools have proven to be significant game-changers, enhancing efficiency, creativity, and personalization in donor engagement. To capitalize on these opportunities, over 60% of nonprofits have started embracing AI in their operations. However, despite these high adoption rates, 92% of nonprofits feel unprepared for AI implementation. To prepare your team to fully leverage AI, let’s understand the landscape and discuss the benefits and challenges of using popular AI-powered tools in nonprofit work. Overview of AI for Nonprofits Leveraging AI: Best Practices for Nonprofits Top AI Tools for Nonprofits Overview of AI for Nonprofits What is AI? AI is any technology that can perform intricate tasks and mimic human intelligence. While AI has become a hot topic in recent years, it’s been around for a while, performing simpler duties like sorting emails or scheduling appointments. However, recent advancements in AI have allowed machines to better understand language, process more complex tasks, and generate original content. In the nonprofit world, organizations typically use AI to enhance and streamline: Prospecting and fundraising by analyzing existing donor data for trends, and identifying new prospects with high potential to give Donor communication by analyzing donors based on shared characteristics and tailoring outreach to them for increased engagement Grant writing by quickly reading applications and generating drafts responses, based on previous applications and organizational materials Human resources by automating interview scheduling, onboarding, training, performance management, and more Graphic design by creating visually appealing infographics or mockups Administrative functions by automating repetitive tasks like data entry, timekeeping,  and record maintenance Data insights and reporting by analyzing large datasets to forecast trends and enable better decision-making Types of AI Tools for Nonprofits The library of AI tools is vast and ever-growing. While each organization may have its own needs and goals that AI can support, below are several common types of AI tools you may encounter: Generative AI: consists of machines that create new content based on user prompts and training data. Nonprofit applications: Content creation for grant proposals, social media posts, and impact reports. Large Language Models (LLMs): systems designed to understand and generate human language by learning from vast datasets. LLMs are a subset of generative AI focused primarily on creating and understanding text. Nonprofit applications: Automatically answering routine questions via chatbots or summarizing content. Predictive AI uses statistical models and machine learning to identify patterns in large datasets to forecast future outcomes.  Nonprofit applications: Prospecting for fundraising and future financial growth. Advantages and Challenges of Using AI Advantages Increased efficiency. With AI handling mundane tasks, nonprofits can focus on more pressing mission-critical work. Easy data reporting. Humans are more prone to making errors when reporting on and analyzing data. AI can easily—and accurately—report on important data. Better decision-making. AI can provide context and information that allows nonprofits to make more informed choices faster. Scalability. Advanced AI solutions can easily adapt to a growing nonprofit’s needs, enabling organizations to handle increased workloads without overburdening staff.  Proactive growth. Most nonprofits have adopted AI, and it’s only getting more prevalent. Your nonprofit should leverage similar technology to keep up with others in the field. Challenges Data privacy/security. Nonprofits must confirm that their chosen solution complies with relevant data privacy laws, like GDPR and CCPA, to keep supporter data safe and maintain their trust. Research which regulations apply to your constituents based on their location, and ensure that AI usage is transparently communicated when necessary. Requires human oversight. AI can make mistakes in researching and synthesizing information, so nonprofit teams need to actively maintain their solutions (more on that later).  Initial and ongoing costs. Like any other software solution, AI solutions have costs associated with them, both financial and in time to implement and onboard staff.  Ethical concerns. AI can reinforce biases based on the datasets it's trained on. There are also concerns about Generative AI solutions trained on user data, which can plagiarize information from other sources. Loss of human touch. Nonprofit outreach relies on forging deep personal connections with supporters. While AI can emulate human thought, it lacks the emotional depth needed to reinforce relationships, so it still requires staff to ensure the final product aligns with an organization’s values. Leveraging AI: Best Practices for Nonprofits Establish parameters for AI privacy and ethics. Your entire team should be aligned on ethical best practices while using AI. Adopt an AI usage policy and supporting AI governance infrastructure to ensure you’re fulfilling promises to stakeholders and protecting their sensitive information. Identify areas for AI application. While AI has many different uses, your nonprofit doesn’t have to rely on it for everything. To start, identify a few pressing areas where AI could help your operations, like content creation, data analysis, or task automation.  Work with an expert to implement AI effectively. The stakes are high when implementing AI, so it’s worth consulting with a professional to cover all of your bases. Double-check AI’s work. While AI can generate human-like text, it’s not flawless. You must review and edit the generated content to ensure it aligns with your organization’s voice, mission, and fundraising goals. Properly train your team. AI can present a learning curve for teams, especially those less technologically advanced. Align everyone with comprehensive AI training and educational resources. Don’t completely replace human interaction with AI. As previously mentioned, AI can’t perfectly emulate your connections with supporters. Use AI to brainstorm ideas for communication (like an outline) and fill in the details yourself. Choosing the right AI systems, developing policies, and training your team are essential, but they take time and expert knowledge to get right. By working with a professional team like Orr Group, you can get up and running with new insights and ideal tools by your side.  Top AI Tools for Nonprofits General Use/LLM: ChatGPT Use: ChatGPT is an advanced language model that has significantly influenced the nonprofit sector’s fundraising strategies. It utilizes machine learning algorithms to generate human-like text based on the input it receives.  Best features: Live web search, DALL-E image generation, and access to a growing dataset. Cost:  Limited free tier $20 Plus tier $200 Pro tier $25/user Team tier Pro-tip: Eligible nonprofits can receive a 20% discount on ChatGPT Team and a 50% discount on ChatGPT Enterprise through OpenAI for Nonprofits.  AI Chatbot: Cody Use: Cody is a chatbot that uses organizational content to answer HR-related queries for employees based on defined knowledge sources. Best features: Easy user interface, customizable knowledge base, task automation, and specific features for IT support, business consulting, marketing, HR, and more. Cost: $29/month for the Basic tier, $249/month for the Advanced tier Writing: Grammarly Use: Grammarly is a browser extension that enhances grammar and generates written content. Best features: Tone suggestions, auto-completion of writing, and extensive user-supplemented knowledge base. Cost: Free tier, $12/month, $15/month Prospecting: Apollo Use: Apollo is a sourcing tool that collects contact information for prospective supporters. Best features: Automated outreach, meeting scheduler, and CRM enrichment tools. Cost: Free-$119/month Grantwriting: Grantable Use: Grantable is an LLM that automates aspects of the grantwriting and submission processes. Best features: Ability to train the system from writing samples, reference user-uploaded materials from a library, and include educational resources. Cost: Free-$89/month Graphic Design: Gamma Use: Gamma is a graphic design platform that facilitates the creation of presentations, documents, webpages, infographics, and more. Best features: AI-generated designs, customization options, and user-friendly interface. Cost: Free-$15/seat/month Administrative: Zapier Use: Zapier automates repetitive administrative tasks while connecting various apps and services. Best features: Configurable workflows, app integrations, and a large integration ecosystem. Cost: Free-$69/month Data Management: Microsoft Power BI Use: Microsoft Power BI is a Microsoft add-on tool that allows users to create reports, visualize data, and share insights. Can be combined with Microsoft Copilot 365 for AI data insights. Best features: User-friendly integrations with Microsoft Suite, interactive dashboards, and customizable reports. Cost: Free-$10/user/month Meeting Management: Zoom AI Companion Use: Zoom AI Companion simplifies meeting management by automatically completing tasks during the meeting. Best features: Real-time meeting transcriptions, agenda generation, and ability to assign next actions with a meeting summary. Cost: Free with paid Zoom account Now that you have a solid understanding of AI in the nonprofit world, it’s time to create and execute your own strategy! Developing policies, training your team, and staying updated on the newest best practices can be draining—but it doesn’t have to be. Having an expert team by your side allows you to play around with these tools, test them out, and see what works for you without compromising mission-critical activities. We suggest working with a team with a business-oriented mindset, embedded partnership approach, and AI-specific expertise, like Orr Group. Our well-rounded nonprofit experience and hands-on strategy can help your nonprofit become more comfortable with AI and develop a sustainable use policy in the long term. That way, you can adapt to the rapidly-changing world of AI with ease! CJ Orr is President and Partner of Orr Group. As an expert project and relationship manager with 10+ years of experience in the sector, CJ utilizes data and technology to execute on the development of strategies and tactics to drive effective fundraising plans that meet or exceed targets.